The Devil Of Probability-Chapter 55: The Root Of Beginnings

Simon did not realize how lucky he was until this point. He did not need to map out the surroundings of the replica world because it was a replica. It saved him and his team hours of their lives, and many near-death instances.

However, his luck had to end at some point. Just a few feet away from him stood Kiyoharu Sato, one of the most dangerous Bedeviled before his capture.

Evelyn’s voice became drowned out, as Simon already knew what she was explaining. He leaned in closer to Kiyoharu, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What’s the point of the bandages?"

"I suppose that I am inside now, aren’t I?"

Simon raised an eyebrow, following the man’s movements. The man took the bandages off his head gently, revealing two fox-like, snow-white ears. Simon didn’t say anything, just leaning back and focusing on the task at hand.

There had been no activity in the Hollow World, so it was now safe to search for the Root of Beginnings there.

"It shouldn’t take too long to find. If we track the magnitude of the replica Earth, we should find it in no more than a month," Evelyn said.

This was true; usually, it would take at least three months to find the Root of Beginnings within the Hollow World. However, since they already knew how the Earth worked, this wouldn’t take as long.

The problem was travel time; they would need some way to go across the sea.

"So we should bring a boat?" Leo suggested.

He was heading in the right direction, but didn’t push far enough. Simon corrected him, saying:

"No, we should bring a submarine. If the bureau even has one of those. Either way, it’ll allow us to cross the sea and explore underwater." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

However, a submarine was still not the perfect choice. Everything had its flaws, and the flaw of a submarine was that at some point, it would not be able to withstand the pressure as it descended.

Everyone else seemed to agree with Simon’s suggestion, and they moved on. The topic at hand now was how to find the Root of Beginnings. With Simon’s calculations, if they were to do everything safely, it would take them about half a month to search the land.

This was because South America no longer existed in the replica world. Thus, the time was cut in half. It would give them more time to explore the ocean, which would take them a month and a half.

While this seemed horrid on paper, it only gave Simon more time to plot and scheme. He desperately needed this now, as he was just starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

The first was Elliot Grayson, the man he had been asked to kill, who was currently in the room with him. The second was the Earth Scale Eel cave. Although the least problematic for now, it could potentially solve the mysteries behind Project Icarus.

And lastly, Kiyoharu Sato, the Kitsune. Simon only had one question for this, however. That question was — why was he here, and what was his mission?

Simon’s mind immediately went with the simplest, yet effective conclusion.

(He’s a spy to watch me. But, is it the Sato Clan that wants to watch me — or the bureau?)

Simon backed off from these thoughts for now; paranoia would not do him any good. Instead, he focused on the Root of Beginnings. The Root of Beginnings, as the name suggests, is the center of a dimension in the Hollow World.

It would follow along the magnitude of the dimension and how it formed.

The dimension that was currently being explored by Simon was a replica of Earth. Thus, it was easier to track the Root because they already knew the mechanics of the world.

If it were anything else, he might have a problem with even finding where to start.

"To add to Simon’s suggestion, I think we should use a jet to traverse to land, too. It’ll be better for my Signature, and to spot any Bedeviled." Kiyoharu said.

However, to Simon’s surprise, he did not look at him, but at Elliot. Simon did not question it, but the two of them were making this hard. No one else seemed to sense this tension, and Evelyn agreed with Kiyoharu.

"I think our searches before were thorough enough, Kiyoharu. If there is any Bedeviled left in that dimension, then they’re just asking for their deaths."

"So are you asking for finality? Elliot Grayson."

The room went quiet at their words, an obvious shock coming from Elliot. It was gone the next second, but not before Simon could notice it. Before he even had the time to look away from the two men, Evelyn had cleared her throat.

The tension still lingered in the air, with Kiyoharu and Elliot locking eyes.

(What the hell is going on?)

Simon turned away once more — how could he focus on so many equations at once? He propped his elbow on the desk in front of him, silently sighing to himself, running his fingers through his hair.

With these two present, it would be hard to find the Root of Beginnings and explore the Earth Scale Eel Cave. He had to pick one, and without hesitation — he picked the latter.

The Root of Beginnings was important, but it could wait. The cave, on the other hand, could not. Not only would it benefit him quicker, but the Root of Beginnings also gave him little to no reward.

In fact, it was actually worse for him to destroy the replica world right now. There were still many things he needed to do in this area of the Hollow World.

Then, it suddenly struck him.

(The entity Leo and Haruto fought!)

How could he forget about such an important detail? This only gave him more reason to delay the search for the Root, as he desperately wanted to forge a contract with the entity.

The problem was, how was he going to find it?

(I guess the best thing to do right now would be to search again. Everyone here knows the electricity works in the replica world, so I can try to use that to my advantage. I know for a fact Jör restored the power everywhere... So in my searches, I can make it seem like the power is malfunctioning.)

Of course, this would only work if they didn’t check the energy source. But Simon had no problem destroying this source if it meant he would gain from it.

However, with everything clouding his mind, he was sure to be stressed. Sensing this, Evelyn smiled and let her voice run smoother than usual.

"How about we end it here for today?"

(Thank god.)